Filmmaking / Directing : How much does it cost to rent equipment by Brian McAndrew

Sorry, but there is no single answer. The web can help a lot. Start with the Film Commission, Office or whatever it is called in your area (local and regional) and look up equipment rental companies. Go to their sites and you are on your way to answers. Look at large and small companies both in local and large markets. This gives you a range of prices. Read the rates closely, daily, weekly and monthly, since longer term rentals are very cost effective. Larger companies have lots of gear so if something breaks, you can get a replacement quickly. Smaller companies will usually have more personal customer service that takes the extra steps to help you. Since you are in Pennsylvania, start with the FilminPA.com site, and click on the “Production Guide” then look in the “search support services”.

The answer to you question is varied and depends on what your requirement is and your budget only then can you plan for equipment.. if you need any help you can contact me at adedapow@hotmail.com

-If you don't know prices, the best thing is to hire an experienced Production Manager. -You should say where you are or where you will be shooting. I can give a price in Canadian dollars but it won't mean much if you are in Europe and use euros. -the cost will depend on the budget of the film. One can rent a Sony EX3 cheaply for a low budget shoot, or rent a top of the line Panavision camera body and a huge set of lenses for a big budget shoot. -prices can sometimes be a starting point. A list price of renting a camera may be "X" per day. If you rent it for a week (5 days) you may only pay for 4 or 3 days. If you only rent the camera it is "X", if you rent a whole kit from the same place, you may get a discount. If you are doing a low budget shoot, you may find that the rental house will give you deep discount on equipment, if they think you will come back when you are doing bigger things to rent from them again. -you may find that a cameraman will rent you a camera cheaper than a rental house,. -if you don't know the prices of film equipment, then you probably should not be trying to rent equipment. A good example is a camera. If you are renting a film or digital camera you are just getting a camera body. Then you have to order lenses, monitors, batteries, cables, etc. for that camera. These things cost extra and have to have the right connections, voltages, size, etc. for that camera body.